skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Working group I Changing occupations and skill requirements in the tourism sector Report Susanne Liane Schmidt, Bernd Dworschak, Fraunhofer IAO, Germany

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Changing Occupations and Occupational Identities in Hospitality and Tourism - The Case of Canada Marion Joppe, Director, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Canada

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Statement in the beginning: There are many similarities with the data presented in the keynotes (Mr Jonckers, Mrs Freikamp). Summary of the presentation: 10.7% of total employment in Canada depend directly and indirectly on tourism industry

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Causes of Skill Shortage: Aging of the population Retention – heavy reliance on youth Recruitment – Image; salary and wage significantly below other professions; Skills easily transferable and much prized by other industries (Only 50% of tourism graduates in the labour market are working in tourism industry (B.C.)) Internal skill gaps

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Example: Internal skill gaps IT skills Literacy and numeracy Communication/presentation skills Customer handling/service Problem solving and critical analysis Leadership skills Financial management and cost control Project management

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 National Occupational Standards Documents describing skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for competent performance in specific tourism occupation Job profiles are compiled and documented by tourism industry itself There are more than 50 national occupational standards developed to date website provides over 1000 pages of job profiles

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Training gaps Communication: reading + writing + oral Customer service Numeracy Problem solving Decision-making Risk management.... (similar to previous presentations) Hire for attitude, train for everything

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Points of discussion There is a (worldwide) demand for chefs and cooks (cooks are also hired from the food industry) In Canada there is an industry-driven process for the validity of the national occupational standards Biggest problem: forecasting/ knowing in advance which skills will be needed in future

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Factors shaping occupational identities in the tourism sector: research from Spain, Czech Republic and Greece Olga Strietska, Cedefop Alena Zukersteinova, National Observatory of Employment and Training, NTF, Czech Republic

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Summary of the presentation: Research project FAME, Research in Tourism sector in Spain, Czech Republic and Greece, Interviews with employers and employees Main challenges for the sector: Wages in hotel and catering are far below national average High labour fluctuation Seasonality....

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Education, training and human resource development in the sector Formal vocational preparation is less important than practical training Skill requirements: - personal and social skills - technological innovation, computer skills and information technologies - multiskilling (combination of skills from different qualifications) - The role of employers in training provision is indispensable, but...

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April factors are most important: - QUALIFICATION - FLEXIBILITY Flexibility as a personal quality which employees are prepared to provide or not  no training possible The lower the qualification – the higher mobility is expected

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Where employers and employees discourses meet and where they disagree Employers search for professionals but they find mostly conciliated workers, active seekers and unconsolidated workers Yet, the demands they set upon all of them are the same to those expected from professionals Yet, the payback is not adequate to those meant for professionals Social dialogue is important for improvement of the skills situation in the sector, yet absent ACTIONS NEEDED!

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Points of discussion Social dialogue is important, but the sector is practically non-unionized  what does the industry / do employers? Remark: Employees change job/sector if they are not satisfied, they do not try to change anything Difficult structure in tourism: 95% of companies are SMEs or micro enterprises

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 The Role of ICT in Tourism and Related Changes in Skills – Tourism Value Net Revenue Management Riina Glinskihh, Hotelzon International Ltd /Tartu University, Estonia

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Summary of the presentation: Changes in Distribution and Sales Revenue Management 1. Changes in Distribution and Sales: Rapid development of information and communication technology has changed the way information is exchanged among tourism industry players. The Internet is revolutionising the distribution of tourism information and sales.

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Important development: Distribution channels traditionally used by tour operators or travel agencies are now available for customers via internet Merged offers of traditionally seperated services, traditional tourism value chains have evolved into the Tourism Value Net Skills Needed for Successful Navigation in Tourism Value Net How to evaluate electronic distribution channels How to choose the right electronic distribution channels

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Networking between Industry and Educational Institutions Networking between tourism education institutions, information technology education institutions and tourism industry players (hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, new intermediaries and technology providers) is essential to develop a skill base for successful navigation in the Value Net.

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Revenue Management Revenue management concepts and tools have been designed to improve and support bottom-line oriented decision-making. Skills Needed for Effective Revenue Management: Marketing Statistics Finance Management Customer Service E-Business Networking Human Resource Management

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Points of discussion in e-business it is very important to know about legislation and insurance for students it would be helpful to have trainings in simulated business cases in special cases hybrid qualifications can be useful: tourism and e-business / ICT

skillsnet TRENDS AND SKILL NEEDS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP, April 2004 Conclusion and outlook Qualifications from the tourism sector are much appreciated by other sectors (customer orientation…) – qualifications from other sectors (ICT) are useful for tourism sector: transversal qualifications and hybrid profiles might be useful  New occupational profiles? Main problems in tourism sector (very similar in all the discussed and compared countries): low wages, high flexibility, little money for training, high fluctuation, skill shortages  How can this circle be interrupted? (more specialists, more generalists?) Many trained and well educated employees leave the sector  Waste of resources and individual skills?